Hotel & Motel Management - May 19, 2008 - (Page 48)

48 News H&MM May 19, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Sheraton Continued from page 4 in the past everywhere else in the world, and want to bring the U.S. hotels up to that standard,” Harper said. Sheraton is in the second year of a three-year plan that includes removing properties (37 originally were removed, with 31 more in the “improve or remove” plan) and renovating more than 100 properties and 50,000 guestrooms. There are 406 Sheraton hotels in 71 countries. About 200 of the hotels are franchised. Harper said the critical components of the brand’s success are consumer insight, applying learnings from sister brands and engaging owners. He cited a “stellar” convention center property in Seattle and a 1,000-room convention hotel opening in Phoenix as exam- ples of what the brand can be, and said the brand will be steadfast in the process of removing underperforming hotels and implementing brand standards. “As with other Starwood brands, we wanted to make sure we did something that really resonated with customers—and that Choose Your Concentration To Begin Energy Efﬁciency Water Conversation Indoor Air Quality Materials Selection 1-800-283-4000 • www.e-musa.com Go Green. Live Green. Buy Green. CIRCLE NO. 119 CIRCLE NO. 129 we did it different and special from the competition,” he said. Core values of belonging, warmth and community will deﬁne Sheraton as a lifestyle brand. Because research found that Sheraton guests like to socialize, the lobbies will take a page from W Hotels and be a destination, not just a space guests walk through, Harper said. The lobby design is inspired by public parks, where people gather, eat and play games, and guests can “be alone but never lonely,” Harper said. The lobby will center on Link@Sheraton, a communications hub with free Wi-Fi and Internet-enabled computer stations, where guests can check e-mail and print boarding passes, and a café. Research also showed that the guestroom still is the most important part of the stay, and the bed is the most important part of the guest- Harper room, Harper SHERATON said. The new Sheraton Sweet Sleeper II will have all-white pillow cases and sheets and a new duvet. Room design is being led by D.B. Kim, the former head of Westin’s design. Guestrooms will use one of three design templates— classic, simple or relaxed—with colors inspired by nature. Flatscreen TVs will feature Scene@ Sheraton with proprietary content and ﬁrst runs from Showtime, Travel Channel and others. Aggressive growth Growth is a key part of the brand’s revitalization effort. The pipeline includes 54 hotels and 20,000 guestrooms to open by 2009. The pipeline includes two New York hotels, three resorts and big box hotels in Phoenix, Dallas and Denver, as well as a 4,000-room hotel in Macau. hgunter@questex.com Sheraton plan by the numbers $1.3 billion in renovations $400 million in key brand initiatives $2 billion in new hotel openings CIRCLE NO. 124 CIRCLE NO. 122 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.e-musa.com http://www.scentworldexpo.com http://www.e-musa.com http://www.scentworldexpo.com http://sterifab.com http://sterifab.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - May 19, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - May 12, 2008 Contents Hotelier of the Year Leads Team to Victory Sheraton Builds on International Success Slower, Smaller Transactions in First Quarter Perspective Legal FAQ What Women Want Sales Clinic AAHOA Update Franchise Law Family Business Travel Trends Guest Column HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Cleaning and Maintenance H&MM's 2008 Franchising Fees Guide FACs Evolve to Meet Brand, Owner Needs The Importance of Branding When Buying Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - May 19, 2008

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